Page 6 of War Bound

As much as he wanted to let her sleep, she would want to be awake for crossing the border. With his free arm, he gently shook her. “Essie, it is time to wake up.”

Her breath caught, then she made a groaning noise in the back of her throat before she pushed off him. She swiped her hair from her face and rubbed at her eyes. “Are we there already?”

“Yes.” The windows behind Jalissa showed the broad expanse of the Hydalla River, its ripples flecked with the orange of the sunset.

Once the train eased to a halt at the station, they waited on board as their luggage was moved from the train to the boat. It took only moments to board the boat, and then they were moving into the current, headed toward Linder Island, a barren, rock island in nearly the center of the river.

Essie rushed to the bow railing, focused on the Escarlish shore with her face turned to the breeze. Farrendel joined her, but he glanced over his shoulder at the Tarenhieli shore growing farther away by the moment. He forced away the churn deep in the pit of his stomach.

Unlike the last time he had been there, Linder Island now had a jetty for their boat. A string of roots grew out of the water up to a tiny, one-room structure built on their side of the island. The roots connected to the rest of their root-system communication system. Farrendel had heard the humans used wires to achieve the same message transfer.

The boat docked, and the gangplank lowered. Farrendel hesitated, but Essie gripped his first two fingers in a handhold and all but dragged him off the boat.

Across the minuscule island, a stone building had been built on the Escarlish side with a wire running to the top of it. A steamboat waited next to their new jetty, smoke belching from the stacks.

This was the result of the treaty between their peoples. Their two communication systems met here, on this island, where the soldiers stationed here could pass messages back and forth with a quick walk.

A far too quick walk. Farrendel barely had time to brace himself before Essie was tugging him across the way.

An Escarlish captain met them beside the stone building. “Princess Elspeth. It is good to have you back on Escarlish soil.”

Farrendel was not sure how Essie would want him to present himself. He settled for standing straight and still beside her, hoping he appeared non-threatening. Beside him, Jalissa held her head high, her expression neutral.

“It’s good to be back.” Smiling, Essie glanced past him to the steamboat tied to the dock behind him. “Is the boat ready to leave now?”

“Yes, Your Highness. We’ve kept the steam pressure up so we can leave immediately.” With a sideways glance at Farrendel and Jalissa that was too quick to discern his thoughts, the captain led the way to the steamboat.

The steamboat was painted a crisp white with black lettering in Escarlish naming the ship theSwift. Red wheels studded with paddles stuck out of the boat on either side toward the rear while the smokestack rose black against the sky, a bright red strip decorating the top.

Jalissa grimaced up at the plume of smoke puffing from the ship’s smokestack.

When Essie glanced at Farrendel, he forced himself to attempt a smile. But he could not hold the expression in place for long before the tightness of his shoulders ran tension into the rest of his muscles.

Essie led Farrendel, Jalissa, and Jalissa’s guard up the gangplank onto the steamboat. The crew retrieved their luggage, then the steamboat shoved off Linder Island.

In the bow, Essie leaned against the rail and bounced on her toes. She pointed. “The outpost is flying a royal pendant. It could be for me, but I think one of my brothers is here to meet us. I wonder if it’s Julien or Edmund? That isn’t Averett’s standard, so it can’t be him.”

Farrendel forced his breathing to remain steady, even as he glanced over his shoulder at the blurry smudge of the far, Tarenhieli shore. In moments, he would be on Escarlish soil for only the second time in his life. His kingdom’s survival might rest on the impression he and Jalissa gave the Escarlish dignitaries. He trusted that Jalissa would make the correct impression, but would he?

He had not made a thorough study of human customs. What if he offended them?

All too soon, the steamboat eased to the dock. Smoke puffed into the sky as the paddle wheels reversed to slow the boat before it lightly bumped a piling. Soldiers rushed to tie the boat in place.

Jalissa joined Essie and Farrendel, her face set in a serene mask. Her flowing, deep burgundy dress highlighted the rich, brown-black of her hair and eyes. She would show the humans exactly how stunning and composed a princess of the elves could be.

If only Farrendel could keep his own bearing as poised.

Essie tugged her hand free of Farrendel’s. When he glanced at her, she clasped his hand with all their fingers, palms together, in the human way of holding hands. “We’re in Escarland now. This is perfectly acceptable, and even expected, here.”

“I see.” Farrendel resisted the urge to glance around, his back prickling with discomfort. This was far too intimate a gesture for public, surely. But none of the soldiers were staring at them as if horrified by the impropriety. A few were staring, but their gazes had the calculating look of threat assessment Farrendel recognized.

“Ready?” Essie’s grin was wide, bright as the sun beaming down through the broad leaves of his home.

No, he was not ready. But he had no reason to delay. “Yes.”

Swinging their clasped hands, Essie strode beside him down the gangway to the jetty.

At the end of the dock, a delegation of soldiers awaited them. In their center stood a slim human man with brown hair cropped short in the style of the humans. Farrendel was not an expert at gauging age in humans, but this human man was young. Around Essie’s age or perhaps a few years older. He was dressed in gray, human-style trousers and a black shirt.

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